Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a 2012 American horror comedy-drama film based on the 1966–71 gothic horror soap opera of the same name. The film is directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire who was imprisoned in a coffin but is unearthed and makes his way back to his mansion now inhabited by his dysfunctional descendants. He soon runs into trouble revitalising the family's canned fish business, as his jealous ex-flame and imprisoner Angelique Bouchard, played by Eva Green, runs the rival company. Michelle Pfeiffer also stars as his cousin Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the reclusive matriarch of the Collins family. It had a limited release on May 10, 2012,[2] opening fully the following day in the United States.[3] The film opened to below-average (for Burton) box office takings,[4] with many commentators pointing to the domination of The Avengers as the reason why.[5] It opened at #2 to that film at most countries' box offices.[5] It received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom acclaimed its visual style, but felt it lacked a focused or substantial plot and developed characters. PLOT The film opens in the late 18th century, when the Collins family sets up a fishing port in Maine called Collinsport. The Collins family son, Barnabas (Johnny Depp), grows up to be a wealthy playboy in the town. He falls in love with Josette du Pres (Bella Heathcote), breaking the heart of his former lover Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green), who is a witch. In a fit of jealousy, Angelique kills Barnabas' parents, curses his family, and bewitching Josette into leap to her death off a cliff. Barnabas jumps over the cliff in grief, but Angelique turns him into a vampire before he reaches the bottom. She then organizes a mob that captures Barnabas and buries him alive in a chained coffin in the woods. 200 years later, in the year 1972, Barnabas is accidentally freed from his coffin by a group of construction workers, whom he feeds on. He makes his way back to his manor to find it inhabited by his dysfunctional descendants and their servants—Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfieffer), the family matriarch; her brother Roger (Jonny Lee Miller); her 15-year-old daughter Carolyn (Chloë Grace Moretz); Roger's 10-year-old son David (Gulliver McGrath); Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), David's psychiatrist; Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley), the manor's caretaker; and Victoria Winters (Heathcote), David's newly hired governess and Josette's reincarnation. Upon convincing Elizabeth of his identity by revealing a secret room behind the fireplace containing treasure, Barnabas is allowed to stay under the condition that he reveal neither the room nor that he is a vampire to the rest of the family. Barnabas pretends to be a distant relative from England who has come to restore the family's business and reputation in town. He also becomes entranced with Victoria, who he briefly mistakes for his lost Josette. As Barnabas helps revitalize the Collins' fishery and manor, Barnabas is approached by Angelique, who has become the head of a successful rival fishery. She tries winning him back and later makes love with him in her office, but he rejects her feelings and tells her he has fallen in love with Victoria. He eventually helps restore his family's name by throwing a party at the manor that the entire town attends. There Angelique witnesses Barnabas and Victoria confessing their feelings to each other, enraging her. Meanwhile, Hoffman discovers Barnabas' identity as a vampire and offers to turn him into a human via blood transfusions, only to use his blood to try and turn herself into a vampire to avoid aging. Upon discovering this, Barnabas drains her blood and dumps her body into the ocean. Barnabas also exposes Roger's lack of interest in his son in favor of searching for the secret room, prompting him to leave the family. Soon afterward, Barnabas rescues David from a falling disco ball and stumbles in a beam of sunlight, burning his skin and exposing his secret to the horrified children and Victoria. Later that night, Angelique calls Barnabas into her office, coaxes him into confessing Hoffman's murder, and traps him in another coffin that she leaves in a crypt. She then burns down the Collins' canning factory and plays a recording of the murder to the townsfolk, turning them against the family once more. Angelique leads the mob to Collinwood manor to arrest the family, but Barnabas is rescued by David and exposes to the mob that he is a vampire and Angelique is a witch. As the townspeople flee in terror, Angelique sets fire to the manor and admits her role in the family's curse, including turning Carolyn into a werewolf and killing David's mother at sea. Barnabas and the Collins family fight Angelique until David summons his mother's vengeful ghost, who knocks Angelique into a chandelier, killing her. Barnabas then discovers that Angelique has bewitched Victoria into jumping off the same cliff Josette did. He jumps after Victoria, biting her neck and turning her into a vampire to save her life. As the two kiss, the film ends with a shot of the underwater Hoffman, who revives as a vampire. CAST *Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, an 18th-century vampire who awakens to the 20th century.[7] Thomas McDonell was scheduled to play the young version of Barnabas, but did not appear in the film.[8] *Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the family matriarch.[7] *Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman, the family's live-in psychiatrist, hired to deal with David and his belief in ghosts.[7] *Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard, a vengeful witch who plots a vendetta against Barnabas and his family.[7] *Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis, the manor's caretaker.[7] *Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins, Elizabeth's "ne'er-do-well" brother.[7] *Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters, David's governess and Barnabas' love interest.[7] Heathcote also plays the role of Josette du Pres; Victoria and Maggie Evans' roles, separate in the series, were combined in the film. *Chloë Grace Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard, Elizabeth's rebellious teenage daughter.[7] *Gulliver McGrath as David Collins, Roger's "precocious" 10-year-old son.[7] *Ray Shirley as Mrs. Johnson, the manor's elderly maid.[9] *Christopher Lee as Silas Clarney, a "king of the fishermen who spends a lot of time in the local pub, The Blue Whale."[10][11] *Alice Cooper as himself.[10] *Ivan Kaye as Joshua Collins, the father of Barnabas Collins.[12] *Susanna Cappellaro as Naomi Collins, the mother of Barnabas Collins.[13] *William Hope as Sheriff Bill of Collinsport *Hannah Murray as Hippie Chick *Guy Flanagan as Bearded Hippie